UP FER IT

Michael Carrick saluted Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes after Manchester United’s midfield stars inspired the 2-1 win over Brentford that moved them closer to Champions League qualification.

Casemiro headed United in front in the early stages at Old Trafford after Fernandes’s corner was nodded on by Harry Maguire.

Fernandes helped United double their lead just before halftime with a surging run and pin-point pass to Benjamin Sesko, who fired home in clinical style.

Carrick’s side survived Mathias Jensen’s late strike to secure a second successive victory, cementing their grip on third place in the Premier League.

Brazilian veteran Casemiro, who is set to leave when his contract expires at the end of the season, now has four goals in his last six games, underlining his enduring value to United.

Fernandes is even more important, the United captain making his 19th assist of the campaign to move within one of the single-season Premier League record currently held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.

Carrick knows the value of his midfield pair and the United interim boss said: “Casemiro has scored some big goals for us. Bruno and Casemiro have a good relationship.

“We have scored nearly every game and Bruno is a big part of that. He could have maybe had one more assist and scored himself.”

When Carrick took over until the end of the season, United were languishing in sixth place, with a Champions League berth far from assured.

But the former United midfielder has impressively steadied the ship following the turbulent reign of Ruben Amorim.

United now need just two points from their last four games to seal their place in Europe’s elite club competition for the first time since 2023-24.

“It wasn’t a given, at certain stages we weren’t favourites. Now we are in a good position and want to finish as high in the league as we want to keep pushing for that,” Carrick said.

“I thought the spirit, effort and togetherness of the players was fantastic. It’s the time of year when it’s a result business and we needed to take points.

“It’s a tough finish in a tough league. To get the amount of wins we have, we are delighted with that.

“Today was all about the three points for us. We have an important game coming up against Liverpool and we can look forward to that.”

Meanwhile, Manchester United defender Harry Maguire praised coach Michael Carrick for the turnaround in the club’s fortunes after a 2-1 Premier League win over Brentford that leaves them ‌close to a return to the Champions League after finishing 15th last term.

United sacked previous coach Ruben Amorim in January after a turbulent 14-month spell at the helm that saw the United players struggle to get to grips with his tactics, and Maguire credited his successor Carrick with restoring the team’s confidence and getting them back to winning ways.

“We had two tough fixtures when Michael first come in, and I think everyone was probably looking at them thinking ‘oh no’, with Arsenal and Man City, and we managed to get the six points,” Maguire told Sky Sports after setting up Casemiro for the first goal against Brentford.

“Everyone’s believed in it, and we’ve gathered together. We’ve got the confidence. We know that we can score goals from anywhere.”

United have won nine of their 13 games under Carrick, paving the way for a return to Europe’s biggest club competition.

“The results speak for themselves – since the manager has come in, and the formation has changed, we just seemed to pick up results. I think that the games previous, when Ruben was here, the games were fifty-fifty, but we always ended up on the back of a defeat,” Maguire explained.

“Now it seems like it’s the other way around, where we’re a lot better in both boxes. We defend our box a lot better, and we’re managing to be clinical in the other box.”